Mercedes-Benz Ocean Drive concept: S-Class drops its top

Memo, VW: This is a real phaeton

The first question always asked an automaker about a concept like this is "Will you build it?" Mercedes-Benz is calling its S600-based Ocean Drive convertible a "one-off special." But following the appearance of the ASC-developed Chrysler 300C Helios at the Detroit show two years back and the Peugeot 407 Macarena with folding steel roof by Heuliez shown at Geneva, it's surely only a question of time before someone builds a four-door convertible that recalls the grand phaetons of the 1920s or 1930s, or even the iconic 1961 to 1967 Lincoln Continental.

Chrysler's plans to market a four-door hardtop convertible based on the next-generation 300, circa 2010, have reportedly been scrubbed, and the Macarena was basically a showcase for Heuliez's engineering skills. But the Ocean Drive could be the car that kickstarts the emerging four-door convertible trend into a production reality, for the simple reason that it'd be easier to absorb the considerable engineering costs in a vehicle with an already high price tag.Besides, with rivals BMW and VW showing new ultra-high-end two-door convertibles-the new Rolls-Royce Drophead Coupe and the Bentley Continental GTC-corporate egos in Stuttgart, already bruised by the relative failure of Maybach, would demand that Germany's premier automaker go one better and build a four-door soft-top.